Methods, apparatuses, and systems for providing transfer block indication in uplink grant-free transmissions

ABSTRACT

A system, apparatus, method, and non-transitory computer readable medium for providing transfer block indications in uplink (UL) grant-free transmissions may include a memory having computer readable instructions stored thereon, and at least one processor configured to execute the computer readable instructions to transmit a first transport block (TB) to a base station (BS) during a first transmission time interval (TTI) using a grant-free UL transmission, receive a UL grant from the BS in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) region during a time window, determine a target of the UL grant, the target including at least one of the first TB, a second TB, or a previously transmitted TB, based on the UL grant, and transmitting the target of the UL grant to the BS.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a continuation of U.S. non-provisional application Ser. No.15/716,020, filed on Sep. 26, 2017, which claims the benefit of priorityunder 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. provisional application No. 62/479,891,filed on Mar. 31, 2017, the entire content of each of which isincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND Field

Various example embodiments relate to methods, apparatuses, systems,and/or non-transitory computer readable media for providing transferblock indications in uplink (UL) grant-free transmissions. Morespecifically, the example embodiments are related to the use ofnon-scheduled UL grant-free transmissions for 5G Ultra Reliable LowLatency Communications (URLLC).

Description of the Related Art

Due to the increased demands for high speed wireless transfer speeds andultra-reliable wireless transmissions, various proposals have beenintroduced to for next generation wireless protocols. For example, the3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) consortium is a partnershipbetween various telecommunications associations, hardware manufacturers,wireless communications operators, and vendors, that establishesstandards and protocols regarding various cellular telecommunicationsnetwork technologies, including radio access, the core transportnetwork, and service capabilities. Examples of 3GPP cellulartelecommunications network standards include GSM, CDMA, 4G LTE, etc. A5^(th) generation mobile network (5G) standard is currently beingdeveloped to provide higher capacity, higher reliability, and lowerlatency communications than the current 4G LTE standard. One goal of the5G standard is to provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications(URLLC), which provides for an average latency of 0.5 ms, and areliability factor of 1-10⁻⁵ when transmitting a 32 byte packet within 1ms. In order to achieve this URLLC requirement, various proposals havebeen submitted for supporting uplink (UL) transmissions schemes without“grant” for URLLC. UL grant-free transmissions can achieve lower latencyand lower signalling overhead than grant-based transmissions becauseUser Equipment (UE) devices do not need to send a scheduling request toa Base Station (BS) and wait for the BS to grant the UL before datatransmission may begin. Additionally, the support for UL grant-freetransmissions may allow for the achievement of the 5G URLLC reliabilitygoal by reducing and/or eliminating potential errors caused byscheduling request and the resource grant process between the UE and theBS.

However, during the UL grant-free transmission process for a firsttransport block (TB) during one or a set of transmission time intervals(TTI), wherein a TTI could be a subframe, a slot, or a mini-slot, a UEmay encounter a situation where the UE will receive a UL grant from a BSrequesting a second TB while the UE is waiting for a response from theBS with regards to the first TB. This may cause an issue because underthe current 5G proposals, the UE is prohibited from transmitting two ormore TBs during the same TTI. Additionally, in this situation, the UEwill be unable to determine whether the UL grant is related to the firstTB, and therefore, requires the UE to resend the first TB to the BSusing the received transmission schedule; or, if the BS has properlyreceived and decoded the first TB and is now requesting that the next TB(e.g., the second TB) be transmitted using the UL grant; or, if the ULgrant is related to a TB that was transmitted prior to the first TBtransmission (e.g., if the first TB is the current TB, one or more TBstransmitted before the current TB). This situation may lead to increasedtransmission errors, reduced reliability, increased latency costs,and/or unnecessary resource consumption related to the UL grant. Whileone potential solution to this situation would be to only allow the UEto receive a single UL grant during a single TTI and to ignore all otherUL grants, this solution is inefficient because it may provide poorerlink adaptation and/or inefficient resource usage.

Accordingly, an approach is desired that allows a UE transmit two ormore different TB s during a single TTI, and further allows the UE todetermine whether a UL grant received during a time window requires theretransmission of a previously transmitted TB or the transmission of anew TB. Accordingly, the UE could either terminate the transmission ofthe ongoing TB to save on resource usage, and/or accept and/or followthe UL grant to retransmit the TB, which would provide more efficientlink adaptation and resource adaptation over a grant-less TBtransmission, and/or transmit a new TB. All of these operations wouldenable more efficient transmission, and therefore lower latency.

SUMMARY

At least one example embodiment relates to a User Equipment (UE) devicefor providing transfer block indications in uplink (UL) grant-freetransmissions.

In at least one example embodiment of the UE device, the UE device mayinclude a memory having computer readable instructions stored thereon,and at least one processor configured to execute the computer readableinstructions to transmit a first transport block (TB) to a base station(BS) during at least a first transmission time interval (TTI) using agrant-free UL transmission, receive a UL grant from the BS in a physicaldownlink control channel (PDCCH) region during a time window, determinea target of the UL grant, the target including at least one of the firstTB, a second TB, or a previously transmitted TB based on the UL grant,and transmit the target of the UL grant to the BS.

Some example embodiments of the UE device provide that the at least oneprocessor is further configured to analyze a transport block size (TBS)of the UL grant and a TBS of the transmitted first TB.

Some example embodiments of the UE device provide that the at least oneprocessor is further configured to when the TBS of the UL grant is thesame or is a next higher TBS value as the TBS of the transmitted firstTB, retransmit the first TB to the BS based on the UL grant.

Some example embodiments of the UE device provide that the at least oneprocessor is further configured to when the TBS of the response is notthe same and is not a next higher TBS value as the TBS of thetransmitted first TB, transmit the second TB to the BS based on the ULgrant.

Some example embodiments of the UE device provide that the at least oneprocessor is further configured to autonomously select a HARQ process IDfor the grant-free UL transmission, and determine a number of bitsassociated with a new data indicator (NDI) included in the UL grant.When the determined number of NDI bits is 2, the at least one processormay perform at least one of: stopping transmission of the first TB usingthe grant-free UL transmission and determining whether to transmit a newTB based on a value of a different bit field included in the UL grant,the UL grant including the HARQ process ID that is selected by UE,retransmitting the first TB to the BS based on the UL grant, continuingtransmission of the first TB using the grant-free UL transmission andretransmitting a previous TB scheduled for transmission prior to thefirst TB to the BS based on the UL grant, the UL grant includinggrant-based UL transmission scheduling information using a HARQ processID selected by the BS, and continuing transmission of the first TB usingthe grant-free UL transmission and transmitting the second TB to the BSbased on the UL grant.

Some example embodiments of the UE device provide that wherein when thedetermined number of NDI bits is 1, the at least one processor isfurther configured to determine the PDCCH region associated with the ULgrant, and based on the determined PDCCH region and a value of the NDIbit, perform at least one of: stopping transmission of the first TBusing the grant-free UL transmission and determining whether to transmita new TB based on a value of a different bit field included in the ULgrant, the UL grant including the HARQ process ID that is selected bythe UE, retransmitting the first TB to the BS based on the UL grant,retransmitting the previous TB to the BS based on the UL grant, andtransmitting the second TB to the BS based on the UL grant.

Some example embodiments of the UE device provide that when results ofthe determination indicate that the second TB is to be transmitted, theat least one processor is configured to transmit the second TB to the BSbased on the UL grant as a URLLC data packet or an eMBB data packet.

Some example embodiments of the UE device provide that when the UL grantis received in a predefined or a configured timing after the first TTIof transmitting the first TB, the at least one processor is configuredto retransmit the first TB to the BS based on the UL grant or transmitthe second TB to the BS based on the UL grant.

At least one example embodiment relates to a Base Station (BS) devicefor providing transfer block indications in UL grant-free transmissions.

In at least one example embodiment of the BS device, the BS device mayinclude a memory having computer readable instructions stored thereon,and at least one processor configured to execute the computer readableinstructions to receive a first transport block (TB) from a UserEquipment (UE) during a first transmission time interval (TTI) using agrant-free UL transmission, determine whether to provide a ULtransmission grant to the UE, transmit a UL grant to the UE in aphysical downlink control channel (PDCCH) region during a time window,the UL grant indicating results of the determination of the ULtransmission grant status, and receive at least one of the first TB, asecond TB, or a previously transmitted TB from the UE based on the ULtransmission grant status.

Some example embodiments of the BS device provide that the at least oneprocessor is further configured to determine a transport block size(TBS) of the UL grant based on a TBS of the received first TB andresults of the determination of the UL transmission grant status.

Some example embodiments of the BS device provide that the at least oneprocessor is further configured to when the determined TBS of the ULgrant is the same or is a next higher TBS value as the TBS of thereceived first TB receive a retransmission of the first TB from the UEbased on the transmitted UL grant.

Some example embodiments of the BS device provide that the at least oneprocessor is further configured to when the determined TBS of the ULgrant is not the same and is not a next higher TBS value as the TBS ofthe received first TB, receive the second TB from the UE based on thetransmitted UL grant.

Some example embodiments of the BS device provide that the at least oneprocessor is further configured to select a HARQ process ID, set a bitlength associated with a new data indicator (NDI), set a value for theNDI bits, the value of the NDI bits causing the UE to perform at leastone of: stop transmission of the first TB using the grant-free ULtransmission, retransmit the first TB to the BS based on the transmittedUL grant, continue transmission of the first TB using the grant-free ULtransmission and retransmit a previous TB scheduled for transmissionprior to the first TB to the BS based on the transmitted UL grant, thetransmitted UL grant including grant-based UL transmission schedulinginformation using the selected HARQ process ID, and continuetransmission of the first TB using the grant-free UL transmission andtransmit the second TB to the BS based on the transmitted UL grant; andtransmit the UL grant to the UE, the UL grant including the NDI bits andthe selected HARQ process ID.

Some example embodiments of the BS device provide that when the setnumber of NDI bits is 1, the at least one processor is furtherconfigured to select the PDCCH region associated with the UL grant, seta value for the NDI bit, the set value of the NDI bit and the selectedPDCCH region causing the UE to perform at least one of: stoptransmission of the first TB using the grant-free UL transmission anddetermine whether to transmit a new TB based on a value of a differentbit field included in the UL grant, the UL grant including the HARQprocess ID that was selected by the UE, retransmit the first TB to theBS based on the transmitted UL grant, retransmit the previous TB to theBS based on the transmitted UL grant, and transmit the second TB to theBS based on the transmitted UL grant.

Some example embodiments of the BS device provide that the second TB istransmitted from the UE as a URLLC data packet or an eMBB data packet.

At least one example embodiment relates to a method of providingtransfer block indications in UL grant-free transmissions.

In at least one example embodiment of the method, the method may includetransmitting a first transport block (TB) to a base station (BS) duringa first time transmission interval (TTI) using a grant-free ULtransmission, receiving a UL grant from the BS in a physical downlinkcontrol channel (PDCCH) region during a time window, the UL grantindicating whether the BS grants UL transmission, determining a targetof the UL grant, the target including at least the first TB or a secondTB based on the UL grant, and transmitting the target of the UL grant tothe BS.

Some example embodiments of the method include analyzing a transportblock size (TBS) of the UL grant and a TBS of the transmitted first TB.

Some example embodiments of the method provide that when the TBS of theUL grant is the same or is a next higher TBS value as the TBS of thetransmitted first TB, the method includes retransmitting the first TB tothe BS based on the UL grant.

Some example embodiments of the method provide that when the TBS of theUL grant is not the same and is not a next higher TBS value as the TBSof the transmitted first TB, the method includes transmitting the secondTB to the BS based on the UL grant.

Some example embodiments of the method include autonomously selecting aHARQ process ID for the grant-free UL transmission, and determining anumber of bits associated with a new data indicator (NDI) included inthe UL grant. When the determined number of NDI bits is 2, the methodmay include performing at least one of: stopping transmission of thefirst TB using the grant-free UL transmission and determining whether totransmit a new TB based on a value of a different bit field included inthe UL grant, the UL grant including the HARQ process ID that isselected by UE, retransmitting the first TB to the BS based on the ULgrant, continuing transmission of the first TB using the grant-free ULtransmission and retransmitting a previous TB scheduled for transmissionprior to the first TB to the BS based on the UL grant, the UL grantincluding grant-based UL transmission scheduling information using aHARQ process ID selected by the BS, and continuing transmission of thefirst TB using the grant-free UL transmission and transmitting thesecond TB to the BS based on the UL grant.

Some example embodiments of the method provide that when the determinednumber of NDI bits is 1, the method includes determining the PDCCHregion associated with the UL grant, and based on the determined PDCCHregion and a value of the NDI bit, performing at least one of stoppingtransmission of the first TB using the grant-free UL transmission anddetermining whether to transmit a new TB based on a value of a differentbit field included in the UL grant, the UL grant including the HARQprocess ID that is selected by the UE, retransmitting the first TB tothe BS based on the UL grant, retransmitting the previous TB to the BSbased on the UL grant, and transmitting the second TB to the BS based onthe UL grant.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of the specification, illustrate one or more example embodimentsand, together with the description, explain these example embodiments.In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless communication system according to at leastone example embodiment;

FIG. 2A illustrates a transmission flow diagram illustrating an uplink(UL) grant-free transmission scenario according to the related art;

FIG. 2B illustrates another transmission flow diagram illustrating an ULgrant-free transmission in another transmission scenario according tothe related art;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a first method for providing transferblock indications in UL grant-free transmissions according to at leastone example embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a second method for providingtransfer block indications in UL grant-free transmissions according toat least one example embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a third method for providing transferblock indications in UL grant-free transmissions according to at leastone example embodiment;

FIG. 6 illustrates a transmission flow diagram between a user equipment(UE) and a base station (BS) according to at least one exampleembodiment; and

FIG. 7 illustrates a second transmission flow diagram between a UE and aBS according to at least one example embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various example embodiments will now be described more fully withreference to the accompanying drawings in which some example embodimentsare shown.

Detailed example embodiments are disclosed herein. However, specificstructural and functional details disclosed herein are merelyrepresentative for purposes of describing the example embodiments. Theembodiments may, however, may be embodied in many alternate forms andshould not be construed as limited to only the example embodiments setforth herein.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. maybe used herein to describe various elements, these elements should notbe limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish oneelement from another. For example, a first element could be termed asecond element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a firstelement, without departing from the scope of example embodiments of thepresent invention. As used herein, the term “and/or,” includes any andall combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being“connected,” or “coupled,” to another element, it can be directlyconnected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may bepresent. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directlyconnected,” or “directly coupled,” to another element, there are nointervening elements present. Other words used to describe therelationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion(e.g., “between,” versus “directly between,” “adjacent,” versus“directly adjacent,” etc.).

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of exampleembodiments of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a,”“an,” and “the,” are intended to include the plural forms as well,unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be furtherunderstood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and/or“including,” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features,integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do notpreclude the presence or addition of one or more other features,integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groupsthereof.

It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, thefunctions/acts noted may occur out of the order noted in the figures.For example, two figures shown in succession may in fact be executedsubstantially concurrently or may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality/acts involved.

Specific details are provided in the following description to provide athorough understanding of the example embodiments. However, it will beunderstood by one of ordinary skill in the art that example embodimentsmay be practiced without these specific details. For example, systemsmay be shown in block diagrams in order not to obscure the exampleembodiments in unnecessary detail. In other instances, well-knownprocesses, structures and techniques may be shown without unnecessarydetail in order to avoid obscuring example embodiments.

Also, it is noted that example embodiments may be described as a processdepicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a data flow diagram, astructure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchart may describethe operations as a sequential process, many of the operations may beperformed in parallel, concurrently or simultaneously. In addition, theorder of the operations may be re-arranged. A process may be terminatedwhen its operations are completed, but may also have additional stepsnot included in the figure. A process may correspond to a method, afunction, a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a processcorresponds to a function, its termination may correspond to a return ofthe function to the calling function or the main function.

Moreover, as disclosed herein, the term “memory” may represent one ormore devices for storing data, including random access memory (RAM),magnetic RAM, core memory, and/or other machine readable mediums forstoring information. The term “storage medium” may represent one or moredevices for storing data, including read only memory (ROM), randomaccess memory (RAM), magnetic RAM, core memory, magnetic disk storagemediums, optical storage mediums, flash memory devices and/or othermachine readable mediums for storing information. The term“computer-readable medium” may include, but is not limited to, portableor fixed storage devices, optical storage devices, wireless channels,and various other mediums capable of storing, containing or carryinginstruction(s) and/or data.

Furthermore, example embodiments may be implemented by hardware,software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware descriptionlanguages, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software,firmware, middleware or microcode, the program code or code segments toperform the necessary tasks may be stored in a machine or computerreadable medium such as a storage medium. A processor(s) may perform thenecessary tasks.

A code segment may represent a procedure, a function, a subprogram, aprogram, a routine, a subroutine, a module, a software package, a class,or any combination of instructions, data structures, or programstatements. A code segment may be coupled to another code segment or ahardware circuit by passing and/or receiving information, data,arguments, parameters, or memory contents. Information, arguments,parameters, data, etc. may be passed, forwarded, or transmitted via anysuitable means including memory sharing, message passing, token passing,network transmission, etc.

Example embodiments are discussed herein as being implemented in asuitable computing environment. Although not required, exampleembodiments will be described in the general context ofcomputer-executable instructions, such as program modules or functionalprocesses, being executed by one or more computer processors or CPUs.Generally, program modules or functional processes include routines,programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that performsparticular tasks or implement particular data types. The program modulesand functional processes discussed herein may be implemented usingexisting hardware in existing communication networks. For example,program modules and functional processes discussed herein may beimplemented using existing hardware at existing network elements orcontrol nodes. Such existing hardware may include one or more digitalsignal processors (DSPs), application-specific-integrated-circuits,field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) computers or the like.

Various example embodiments will be discussed with reference to theupcoming 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) 5^(th) Generation(5G) protocol, however, the example embodiments are not limited thereto.For example, the example embodiments may be utilized in conjunction withRadio Access Networks (RANs) such as: Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS); Global System for Mobilecommunications (GSM); Advance Mobile Phone Service (AMPS) system; theNarrowband AMPS system (NAMPS); the Total Access Communications System(TACS); the Personal Digital Cellular (PDC) system; the United StatesDigital Cellular (USDC) system; the code division multiple access (CDMA)system described in EIA/TIA IS-95; a High Rate Packet Data (HRPD)system, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX); UltraMobile Broadband (UMB); 3GPP LTE; 3GPP 5G (5^(th) Generation); etc.

At least one example embodiment refers to a new scenario in 5G NR wheregrant-free and grant-based transmissions may occur at the same time,i.e. simultaneously, for a single, individual user equipment (UE). Therelated, i.e., corresponding, new data indicator (NDI) schedulingindication from the base station (BS) is then not just for a grant-freeor just for a grant-based UL transmission, but may be a schedulingindication for mixed traffic. According to at least some exampleembodiments, a shared HARQ process is proposed for both types oftransmissions (e.g., grant-free and grant-based UL transmissions) and2-bit NDIs may be used to indicate the transmission types. Thus, aredefinition and new extension of NDI is proposed to enable flexible andmixed case usage scenarios in 5G, e.g., when there are both enhancedMobile Broadband (eMBB) and URLLC data to be transmitted at the sametime from one UE.

FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless communication system, according to atleast one example embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, a communication system100 includes user equipment (UEs) 102, 104, and 106, base stations (BSs)120 and 122, as well as the network gateway 126. The UEs 102, 104, and106, and the BSs 120 and 122 may be connected over a wireless network,such as a cellular wireless access network (e.g., a 3G wireless accessnetwork, a 4G-Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, a next generation(e.g., 5G) wireless network, etc.), a WiFi network, a WiMAX network,etc. The BSs 120 and 122 may connect to the network gateway 126 over awired and/or wireless network.

Each of the UEs 102, 104, and 106 may be any one of, but not limited to,a mobile device, a tablet, a laptop computer, a desk top computer and/orany other type of stationary or portable device capable of establishingcommunication via one or more wireless network to the Internet and/orother devices.

While FIG. 1 only illustrates three UEs, 102, 104, and 106, the numberof UEs in the communication system 100 is not limited thereto and mayinclude any number of UEs that are the same or different from the UEs102, 104, and 106, as described above. Additionally, while FIG. 1 onlyillustrates two BSs 120 and 122, the number of BSs in the communicationsystem 100 is not limited thereto and may include any number of BSs thatare the same or different from the BSs 120 and 122.

The communication system 100 further includes one or more base stationssuch as BSs 120 and 122. The BSs 120 and 122 may operate according tothe underlying cellular wireless access technology. For example, if theUEs 102, 104, and 106 are 5G-enabled devices, then the BSs 120 and 122are g-NodeBs (gNB) or other 5G-based cell base stations, however theexample embodiments are not limited thereto.

In at least one example embodiment, the UEs 102, 104, and 106 maycommunicate and/or transmit data to and from the network gateway 126 viathe BSs 120 and 122. The network gateway 126 facilitates thecommunication of UEs 102, 104, 106 and 108 with other devices, entities,etc., over a back-end network, such as the Internet, etc.

While certain components of the home network and the cellular wirelessnetwork are shown as part of the communication system 100, exampleembodiments are not limited thereto. Each of the home network and thecellular wireless access network may include components other than thatshown in FIG. 1, which are necessary and/or beneficial for operation ofthe underlying networks within the communication system 100, such asaccess points, switches, routers, nodes, etc.

FIG. 2A illustrates a transmission flow diagram illustrating an uplink(UL) grant-free transmission scenario according to the related art. Asshown in FIG. 2A, there is illustrated a UE transmission time slotdiagram 210 and a BS transmission time slot diagram 220. The UEtransmission time slot diagram 210 may represent the UL transmissions ofa UE, such as UEs 102, 104, or 106, and the BS transmission time slotdiagram 220 may represent the downlink (DL) transmission of a BS, suchas BS 120 or 122. During the UL grant-free transmission, the TTI periodof the UE may be set to be K repetitions, where K is a natural number.In FIG. 2, the TTI period is set to 6 repetitions (e.g., slot 211 toslot 216) where each repetition occupies one time slot, however theexample embodiments are not limited thereto. For example, at slot 211,the UE may initiate the UL grant-free transmission of a first TB or TB#1(e.g., a block of data stored in a transmission buffer of the UE). Underthe UL grant-free transmission procedure, the UE will repeat the ULgrant-free transmission of the first TB until the UE receives anacknowledgement of successful reception of the TB from the BS, until thenumber of repetitions of the transmission equals the K value, or a ULgrant is received for the same TB.

However, at slot 221, a BS may transmit a UL grant to schedule thetransmission or retransmission of a different TB (e.g., a second TB orTB#2) to the UE. Then, the UE may receive the transmitted UL grant forthe second TB while still in the TTI for transmitting the first TB(e.g., slot 215). Accordingly, there is a need for a method to analyzethe received UL grant and determining which type of TB is beingscheduled.

FIG. 2B illustrates another transmission flow diagram illustrating a ULgrant-free transmission in another transmission scenario according tothe related art. In FIG. 2B, there is illustrated a UE transmission timeslot diagram 250 and a BS transmission time slot diagram 260. As shownin FIG. 2B, a UE transmits a UL grant-free TB#1 using only onerepetition, i.e., K=1, at slot 251. In this scenario, the UE isconfigured to expect a possible UL-grant for scheduling theretransmission of TB#1 from the BS within a predefined time window 270after the TB transmission (e.g., TB#1). However, the BS may transmit tothe UE a UL grant response during this same time window 270, the ULgrant response providing scheduling for the transmission of a differentTB (e.g., a TB#2, a second TB, a next TB, etc.) or retransmission of apreviously transmitted TB (e.g., a TB that was transmitted prior toTB#1). Consequently, there is a need for a method for analyzing thereceived UL grant and determining the desired type of TB beingscheduled.

FIGS. 3 to 5 illustrate various methods for analyzing the received ULgrant and determining the desired type of TB is being scheduledaccording to some example embodiments. The methods illustrated in FIGS.3, 4, and 5 may be executed as the operations of any one of the UEs 102,104, and 106 in conjunction with the other devices illustrated inFIG. 1. However, it should be noted that any appropriate UE may operatethe method described below.

Referring to FIG. 3, a method for analyzing the received UL grant anddetermining the desired type of TB being scheduled according to at leastone example embodiment is shown. In operation S301, a UE may transmit afirst TB using grant-free UL transmission as part of a URLLC data packettransmission to at least one BS during a first TTI. The TTI may be of adesired time interval and the transmission of the first TB using ULtransmission may be repeated up to K times, where K is a natural numberand is configurable, before beginning transmission of the next TB, orsecond TB, stored in a transmission buffer of the UE in the next TTI(e.g., a second TTI). For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the K may be setas 6 TTI, but the example embodiments are not limited thereto. The TBmay include data packets stored in a transmission buffer of the UE. Insome example embodiments, the TB may be a URLLC data packet, an enhancedMobile Broadband (eMBB) data packet, etc., however the exampleembodiments are not limited thereto. Additionally, based on instructionsreceived from the BS, the UE may convert TBs to be transmitted from afirst data packet type, e.g., URLLC data packets, to a second datapacket type, e.g., eMBB data packets.

In operation S302, the UE may receive a UL grant response in a physicaldownlink control channel (PDCCH) region from the at least one BS duringthe K repetitions, as illustrated in FIG. 2A, or during a predefinedtime window, as illustrated in FIG. 2B. In order to allow the UE todetermine which type of TB is being scheduled, according to at least oneexample embodiment, the BS may use a transport block size (TBS) toindicate the type of TB to be scheduled. Examples of the different TBscheduling types include scheduling a grant-free old TB, wherein thepreviously transmitted TB (e.g., the first TB) is re-transmitted againusing the grant-free transmission; a grant-based old TB, wherein thecurrent TB or a previously transmitted TB (e.g., the first TB or a TBthat was transmitted before the first TB), is transmitted based on theUL grant scheduling from the BS; and a grant-based new TB, wherein a newTB (e.g., a second TB, or next TB), is to be transmitted to the BS usingthe UL grant scheduling from the BS. This new TB may be the same datapacket type as the old TB (e.g., if the old TB was a URLLC data packet,the new TB may be a URLLC data packet, etc.), or the new TB may beconverted to a different data packet type (e.g., if the old TB was aURLLC data packet, the new TB may be converted to a eMBB data packet,etc.) based on an instruction from the BS included in the UL grantresponse. While three TB scheduling types are listed, the exampleembodiments are not limited thereto and may include additional TBscheduling types may be provided.

According to some example embodiments, the BS may select a desired TBscheduling type from the plurality of TB scheduling types, and thenindicate the desired type to the UE using the TBS of the UL grantresponse. The BS may generate and transmit a UL grant response to theUE, and the UE may determine the TB scheduling type based on the TBS setby the BS to be used for the UL grant transmissions, however the exampleembodiments are not limited thereto and the BS may provide the desiredTB scheduling type using other means, such as the means described inconnection with FIGS. 4 and 5 below.

In operation S303, the UE may determine the desired TB scheduling typeto use by analyzing the TBS of the UL grant response and comparing thetransport block size (TBS) of the UL grant response with the TBS of theinitially transmitted first TB.

In operation S304, if the UL grant response includes an explicit orimplicit indication that the transport block size (TBS) is the same TBSas the TBS used by the UE to transmit the grant free UL first TB to theBS, or that the TBS to be used is one size larger than the initial TBSused by the UE to transmit the first TB, then the desired TB schedulingtype is the grant-free old TB scheduling type and the UE will retransmitthe first TB based on the scheduling information in the UL grant.

In operation S305, if the UL grant response includes an explicit orimplicit indication that the TBS to be used is not the same TBS as theinitial TBS, or is not the next size larger TBS than the initial TBS,then the UE may transmit the second TB to the BS based on the UL grantscheduling information included in the UL grant response.

In operation S306, if no UL grant response was received during the timeslot at S302, the UE may repeat operations S301 to S305 up to the set Ktimes. If the UE has transmitted the first TB K times, the UE may thentransmit the next TB (e.g., the second TB) stored in the transmissionbuffer of the UE during a second TTI.

Additionally, according to some example embodiments, if the UE receivesthe UL grant during a desired (and/or predefined) timing (e.g., a timingwindow, etc.) or a pre-configured timing window after the transmissionof the first TB during the first TTI, the UE may retransmit the first TBto the BS based on the received UL grant information, or transmit thesecond TB to the BS based on the received UL grant information.

While FIG. 3 illustrates one method of using the TBS to indicate thedesired TB scheduling type, the example embodiments are not limitedthereto, and other methods may be used to indicate the desired TBscheduling type based on the TBS. For example, other example embodimentsmay use different desired TBS sizes (e.g., a next lower TBS size, etc.)to determine whether the UE is to transmit the first TB or the second TBto the BS based on the UL grant scheduling information.

Referring to FIG. 4, according to at least one example embodiment, thedesired TB scheduling type may be determined based on analysis of a bitand/or bits filled in the UL grant, e.g., a new data indicator (NDI)value. For example, a standard NDI may be one bit long. However, in someexample embodiments, the NDI bit length may be greater than one bit(e.g., two or more bits). In example embodiments where the NDI bit is atleast two bits, the BS may use the NDI bits to indicate the desired TBscheduling type to be used by the UE and/or indicate the status of theprevious TB transmission.

In operation S401, the UE may autonomously (and/or independently) selecta Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) process ID to be shared betweengrant-free and grant-based transmission from the UE to the BS. HARQ isused as an error control process for correcting error packetstransmitted in the PHY layer between the UE and the BS. The HARQ processID is used to identify the HARQ process being used by the UE and/or theBS and to identify a transmitted TB. According to some exampleembodiments, the HARQ process ID may be served as a payload andtransmitted in the grant-free TB transmission, and/or could be known bythe BS from an implicit mapping, e.g., a HARQ process ID mapped to atransmission starting slot index.

In operation S402, the UE may transmit the first TB using the grant-freeUL transmission to the BS during the first TTI, similar to operationS301. In operation S403, the UE receives a UL grant response from the BSin a PDCCH region. The UL grant response includes the NDI and a secondHARQ process ID that has been selected by the BS.

At operation S404, the UE will analyze the UL grant response anddetermine the number of bits (e.g., the length) in the NDI. At operationS405, if the NDI bit length is two bits long, the UE will determine thevalue of the NDI.

In operation S406, if the UE determines that the NDI bit value is afirst value (e.g., NDI=“00”), the UE will stop transmission of the firstTB because the BS has successfully received the initial grant-free oldTB transmission and indicates that the UE may stop transmitting the oldTB (e.g., the first TB). In other words, if the BS transmits an NDIhaving the first value, this is an acknowledgement of successfultransmission of the initial grant-free old TB. In this case, the HARQprocess ID is transmitted in the UL grant (e.g., the UL grant response)and the HARQ process ID is set to be the process ID that is detectedfrom the grant-free old TB or from the implicit mapping. Additionally,the UE may determine whether the purpose of the UL grant is toacknowledge the successfully transmission (e.g., detection) of the grantfree old TB, or whether the UL grant is the acknowledgment of thesuccessful transmission of the grant free old TB while also including ascheduling instruction for a new TB. According to some exampleembodiments, this may be achieved, for example, by indicating a specialmodulation coding scheme (MCS) level in the UL grant (e.g., the MCSlevel is a desired value, etc.), whereby the UE will determine that theUL grant is only for acknowledgement, and otherwise the UL grant willalso schedule a new transmission.

In operation S407, if the UE determines that the NDI bit value is asecond value (e.g., NDI=“01”), the UE will retransmit the first TB basedon the scheduling information received from the BS because the BS hasnot detected the grant-free old TB. In other words, if the BS transmitsan NDI having the second value, this is an instruction from the BS tothe UE to (re)transmit the data included in the previously transmittedgrant-free old TB based on the received UL grant scheduling information,including the HARQ process ID that was selected by the BS and indicatedin the UL grant scheduling information. In this case, the HARQ processID in the UL grant could be a random value, because the BS did notdetect the previous grant-free TB transmission, or could be a HARQprocess ID deduced from the implicit mapping.

In operation S408, if the UE determines that the NDI bit value is athird value (e.g., NDI=“10”), the UE will continue the grant-free ULtransmission of the first TB to the BS, and will also transmit theprevious TB (e.g., the TB scheduled to be transmitted to the BS prior tothe grant-free UL transmission of the first TB) to the BS based on thereceived UL grant scheduling information. The grant-based TB of theprevious TB is a grant based old TB and the BS that will use thepreviously allocated HARQ process ID (e.g., the HARQ process IDallocated by the BS) and the third value NDI to identify this desired TBscheduling type. In other words, if the BS transmits an NDI having thethird value, this is an instruction to the UE to retransmit the previousgrant based TB identified by the HARQ process ID in the UL grant.

In operation S409, if the UE determines that the NDI bit value is afourth value (e.g., NDI=“11”), the UE will continue the grant-free ULtransmission of the first TB to the BS, and will also transmit a new TB(e.g., a second TB, the next TB, etc.) to the BS based on the UL grantscheduling information. This second TB is a grant based new TB (e.g.,not a previously transmitted TB) and the BS will allocate a HARQ processID to identify this TB. In other words, if the BS transmits an NDIhaving the fourth value, this is an instruction to the UE to transmit anew TB based on this UL grant, while also continuing the grant-freetransmission of the first TB. The HARQ process ID in the grantidentifies the TB. The UE will continue the grant-free old TBtransmission. As another option, according to some example embodiments,the UE determines whether to terminate or continue the transmission ofgrant-free old TB based on an explicit indication.

One advantage to using an NDI bit length that is greater than one bit todetermine the desired TB scheduling type is that it allows the same TBSto be used for multiple TB transmissions in the same TTI window.

While various NDI values have been discussed in connection with FIG. 4,the example embodiments are not limited thereto and other NDI values maybe used to indicate the TB scheduling types and/or additional TBscheduling types.

Referring now to FIG. 5, according to at least one example embodiment,the desired TB scheduling type may be determined based on analysis ofthe new data NDI value and the PDCCH region identified in the UL grantresponse from the BS. The PDCCH is a channel that is used to carrydownlink control information (DCI) related to the data being transmittedon the current subframe, and information regarding the resources whichthe UE needs to use for the uplink data transmitted between the UE tothe BS. The DCI includes the resource assignments for the UE that havebeen assigned by the BS. In other words, the UL grant is carried by aDCI and transmitted in a PDCCH region. According to some exampleembodiments, the BS may determine the desired TB scheduling type andinform the UE by using a desired PDCCH region and setting a desired NDIvalue. The PDCCH region is separately configured for transmitting URLLCand eMBB TBs, and the configuration is either in the time domain or inthe frequency domain, or in both.

For example, in operation S501, the UE may autonomously select a HARQprocess ID for a grant-free UL transmission, similar to operation S401of FIG. 4. The UE may autonomously select the HARQ process ID based on adesired rule (e.g., a predefined rule, etc.) for grant-free ULtransmissions according to some example embodiments. In operation S502,the UE may transmit the first TB using the grant-free UL transmission tothe BS during the first TTI, similar to operation S402 and S301. Inoperation S503, the UE will receive a UL grant response from the BS in adesignated PDCCH region selected by the BS which allows, in part, the UEto determine the desired TB scheduling type. The UL grant response willalso include an NDI that is selected by the BS to help indicate thedesired TB scheduling type. According to various example embodiments,the NDI may have a length of one bit.

At operation S504, the UE will analyze the received UL grant responseand will also determine the PDCCH region of the UL grant response atoperation S505.

At operation S506, if the value of the NDI is a first value (e.g.,NDI=“0”) and the PDCCH region is a first region (e.g., PDCCH region 1),the UE will stop transmission of the first TB because the BS hassuccessfully received the first TB, similar to operation S406. Alsosimilarly, the HARQ process ID is transmitted in the UL grant and is setby the BS to be the HARQ process ID that was detected from thegrant-free old TB, or from the implicit mapping. Additionally, the UEmay determine whether this UL grant is for acknowledging thesuccessfully transmission (e.g., detection) of the grant free old TB bythe BS, or that the UL grant response also includes the scheduling of anew TB transmission. According to some example embodiments, this may beachieved, for example, by indicating a special MCS level in the ULgrant, which allows the UE to determine whether this UL grant is justfor acknowledgement, or also includes schedule information for a newtransmission. However, the example embodiments are not limited thereto,and other information/indicators may be included in the UL grant thatmay be used to convey this information.

At operation S507, if the value of the NDI is a second value (e.g.,NDI=“1”) and the PDCCH region is a second region (e.g., PDCCH region 2),the UE will determine that the desired TB scheduling type is thegrant-free old TB type, and will retransmit the first TB using thegrant-free transmission, similar to S407.

At operation S508, if the value of the NDI is the first value (e.g.,NDI=“0”) and the PDCCH region is the second region (e.g., PDCCH region2), the UE will determine that the desired TB scheduling type is thegrant-based old TB type, and will retransmit the first TB using thegrant-based UL transmission scheduling, similar to S408.

At operation S509, if the value of the NDI is the second value (e.g.,NDI=“1”) and the PDCCH region is the first region (e.g., PDCCH region1), the UE will determine that the desired TB scheduling type is thegrant-based new TB, and will transmit the next TB (e.g., the second TB)using the grant-based UL transmission scheduling, similar to operationS409.

While various NDI values and PDCCH regions have been discussed inconnection with FIG. 5, the example embodiments are not limited theretoand other NDI values and/or PDCCH regions may be used to indicate the TBscheduling types and/or additional TB scheduling types.

Now referring to FIG. 6, FIG. 6 illustrates a transmission flow diagrambetween a UE device and a BS corresponding to operations S401 to S406 ofFIG. 4. FIG. 6 illustrates a UL transmission from an example UE to anexample BS as element 610, and the DL transmission (e.g., the UL grantresponse) from the example BS to the example UE as element 620. In thisexample, the repetition K value has been set to 6 repetitions and the UEhas autonomously selected a HARQ process ID of 1, however the exampleembodiments are not limited thereto and other K and other HARQ processIDs may be used. As illustrated in FIG. 6, at time slot 611, the UEinitiates and/or starts a grant-free UL transmission of the first TB(e.g., TB#1). At time slot 621, the BS transmits the UL grant responseto the UE, the UL grant response including a NDI equal to “00”, and withthe HARQ process ID of 1. Meanwhile, at time slots 612 to 614, the UEcontinues to retransmit the grant-free UL transmission of the first TBbecause the UE has not received the UL response from the BS. At timeslot 615, the UE receives the UL grant response transmitted by the BS attime slot 621. Because the UL grant response indicates that the NDI isequal to “00”, the UE determines that the instruction from the BS is tostop transmission of the first TB because the BS has successfullyreceived the initial grant-free old TB transmission of the first TB.Accordingly, because the UE is able to determine that the BS hassuccessfully received the grant-free UL transmission before the TTIwindow has closed, the UE may transmit the next TB in its transmissionbuffer. This results in improved efficiency, improved latency, andbetter utilization of the UE and BS resources.

FIG. 7 illustrates a transmission flow diagram between a UE device and aBS corresponding to operations S401 to S405 and S409 of FIG. 4. Similarto FIG. 6, FIG. 7 illustrates a UL transmission from an example UE to anexample BS as element 710, and the DL transmission (e.g., the UL grantresponse) from the example BS to the example UE as element 720. At timeslot 711, the UE initiates and/or starts a grant-free UL transmission ofthe first TB (e.g., TB#1). At time slot 721, the BS transmits the ULgrant response to the UE, the UL grant response including a NDI equal to“01”, and with the BS selected HARQ process ID of 3. Meanwhile, at timeslots 712 to 714, the UE continues to retransmit the grant-free ULtransmission of the first TB because the UE has not received the ULresponse from the BS. At time slot 715, the UE receives the UL grantresponse previously transmitted by the BS at time slot 721. Because theUL grant response in this example indicates that the NDI is equal to“01”, the UE determines that the instruction from the BS is retransmitthe first TB using the grant-free UL transmission starting at time slot716 as the start of a new TTI window (e.g., second TTI window).Accordingly, because the UE is able to determine that the BS requiresthat the first TB be retransmitted before the first TTI window hasclosed, the UE may ensure that the BS receives the transmitted TB. Thisresults in improved reliability, while also providing improved latency,and better utilization of the UE and BS resources.

Various example embodiments are directed towards the use ofnon-scheduled UL grant-free transmissions for 5G URLLC data packets andproviding indications for the desired TB scheduling types for thetransmissions. By using the different TB scheduling types, the systemmay allow a UE to transmit two or more different TBs during a singlescheduled TTI window.

As will be appreciated, the methods, systems and apparatuses accordingto the example embodiments have several advantages. The exampleembodiments may provide for reduction in transmission errors, increasedreliability, decreased latency costs, and/or reduction of unnecessaryresource consumption related to the UL grant process. Additionally, theexample embodiments may provide for more efficient link adaption andresource usage when performing UL grant-free transmissions.

This written description uses examples of the subject matter disclosedto enable any person skilled in the art to practice the same, includingmaking and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporatedmethods. The patentable scope of the subject matter is defined by theclaims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled inthe art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of theclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A User Equipment (UE) device for providingtransport block indications in uplink (UL) grant-free transmissions, thedevice comprising: a memory having computer readable instructions storedthereon; and at least one processor configured to execute the computerreadable instructions to, transmit a first transport block (TB) to abase station (BS) during a first transmission time interval (TTI) usinga grant-free UL transmission, receive a UL grant from the BS in aphysical downlink control channel (PDCCH) region during a time window,determine a target of the UL grant, the target including at least one ofthe first TB, a second TB, or a previously transmitted TB, based on theUL grant; transmit the target of the UL grant to the BS; autonomouslyselect a hybrid automatic repeat query (HARQ) process ID for thegrant-free UL transmission; and determine a number of bits associatedwith a new data indicator (NDI) included in the UL grant; and inresponse to the determined number of NDI bits being 2, perform at leastone of, stopping transmission of the first TB using the grant-free ULtransmission and determining whether to transmit a new TB based on avalue of a different bit field included in the UL grant, the UL grantincluding the HARQ process ID that is selected by UE, retransmitting thefirst TB to the BS based on the UL grant, continuing transmission of thefirst TB using the grant-free UL transmission and retransmitting aprevious TB scheduled for transmission prior to the first TB to the BSbased on the UL grant, the UL grant including grant-based ULtransmission scheduling information using a HARQ process ID selected bythe BS, and continuing transmission of the first TB using the grant-freeUL transmission and transmitting the second TB to the BS based on the ULgrant.
 2. The UE device of claim 1, wherein the at least one processoris further configured to, analyze a transport block size (TBS) of the ULgrant and a TBS of the transmitted first TB.
 3. The UE device of claim2, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to, inresponse to the TBS of the UL grant being the same or being a nexthigher TBS value as the TBS of the transmitted first TB, retransmit thefirst TB to the BS based on the UL grant.
 4. The UE device of claim 2,wherein the at least one processor is further configured to, in responseto the TBS of the UL grant not being the same and not being a nexthigher TBS value as the TBS of the transmitted first TB, transmit thesecond TB to the BS based on the UL grant.
 5. The UE device of claim 1,wherein in response to the determined number of NDI bits being 1, the atleast one processor is further configured to, determine the PDCCH regionassociated with the UL grant; and based on the determined PDCCH regionand a value of the NDI bit, perform at least one of, stoppingtransmission of the first TB using the grant-free UL transmission anddetermining whether to transmit a new TB based on a value of a differentbit field included in the UL grant, the UL grant including the HARQprocess ID that is selected by the UE, retransmitting the first TB tothe BS based on the UL grant, retransmitting the previous TB to the BSbased on the UL grant, and transmitting the second TB to the BS based onthe UL grant.
 6. The UE device of claim 1, wherein in response toresults of the determination indicating that the second TB is to betransmitted, the at least one processor is configured to transmit thesecond TB to the BS based on the UL grant as an ultra-reliablelow-latency communication (URLLC) data packet or an enhanced MobileBroadband (eMBB) data packet.
 7. The UE device of claim 1, wherein theat least one processor is further configured to, in response to the ULgrant is received in a predefined or a configured timing after the firstTTI of transmitting the first TB, retransmit the first TB to the BSbased on the UL grant; or transmit the second TB to the BS based on theUL grant.
 8. A User Equipment (UE) device for providing transport blockindications in uplink (UL) grant-free transmissions, the devicecomprising: a memory having computer readable instructions storedthereon; and at least one processor configured to execute the computerreadable instructions to, transmit a first transport block (TB) to abase station (BS) during a first transmission time interval (TTI) usinga grant-free UL transmission, receive a UL grant from the BS in aphysical downlink control channel (PDCCH) region during a time window,determine a target of the UL grant, the target including at least one ofthe first TB, a second TB, or a previously transmitted TB, based on theUL grant, transmit the target of the UL grant to the BS, autonomouslyselect a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARM) process ID for thegrant-free UL transmission; and determine a number of bits associatedwith a new data indicator (NDI) included in the UL grant; and inresponse to the determined number of NDI bits being 1, the at least oneprocessor is further configured to, determine the PDCCH regionassociated with the UL grant, and based on the determined PDCCH regionand a value of the NDI bit, perform at least one of, stoppingtransmission of the first TB using the grant-free UL transmission anddetermining whether to transmit a new TB based on a value of a differentbit field included in the UL grant, the UL grant including the HARQprocess ID that is selected by the UE, retransmitting the first TB tothe BS based on the UL grant, retransmitting the previous TB to the BSbased on the UL grant, and transmitting the second TB to the BS based onthe UL grant.
 9. A base station (BS) device for providing transfer blockindications in uplink (UL) grant-free transmissions, the BS devicecomprising: a memory having computer readable instructions storedthereon; and at least one processor configured to execute the computerreadable instructions to, receive a first transport block (TB) from aUser Equipment (UE) during a first transmission time interval (TTI)using a grant-free UL transmission, determine whether to provide a ULtransmission grant to the UE, set a bit length associated with a newdata indicator (NDI), transmit a UL grant to the UE in a physicaldownlink control channel (PDCCH) region during a time window, the ULgrant indicating results of the determination of the UL transmissiongrant status, and the UL grant including the NDI, receive at least oneof the first TB, a second TB, or a previously transmitted TB from the UEbased on the UL transmission grant status; and wherein the transmissionof the UL grant to the UE causes the UE to, autonomously select a hybridautomatic repeat query (HARQ) process ID for the grant-free ULtransmission, determine a number of bits associated with the NDIincluded in the UL grant, and in response to the determined number ofNDI bits being 2, the UE is further caused to perform at least one of,stop transmission of the first TB using the grant-free UL transmissionand determining whether to transmit a new TB based on a value of adifferent bit field included in the UL grant, the UL grant including theHARQ process ID that is selected by UE, retransmit the first TB to theBS based on the UL grant, continue transmission of the first TB usingthe grant-free UL transmission and retransmitting a previous TBscheduled for transmission prior to the first TB to the BS based on theUL grant, the UL grant including grant-based UL transmission schedulinginformation using a HARQ process ID selected by the BS, and continuetransmission of the first TB using the grant-free UL transmission andtransmitting the second TB to the BS based on the UL grant.
 10. The BSdevice of claim 9, wherein the at least one processor is furtherconfigured to, determine a transport block size (TBS) of the UL grantbased on a TBS of the received first TB and results of the determinationof the UL transmission grant status.
 11. The BS device of claim 10,wherein the at least one processor is further configured to, in responseto the determined TBS of the UL grant being the same or being a nexthigher TBS value as the TBS of the transmitted first TB, receive aretransmission of the first TB from the UE based on the transmitted ULgrant.
 12. The BS device of claim 10, wherein the at least one processoris further configured to, in response to the determined TBS of the ULgrant not being the same and not being a next higher TBS value as theTBS of the received first TB, receive the second TB from the UE based onthe transmitted UL grant.
 13. The BS device of claim 9, wherein the atleast one processor is further configured to: select a HARQ process ID;and set a value for the NDI bits.
 14. The BS device of claim 13, whereinin response to the set number of NDI bits being 1, the at least oneprocessor is further configured to, select the PDCCH region associatedwith the UL grant; and wherein the set value of the NDI bit and theselected PDCCH region cause the UE to perform at least one of, stoptransmission of the first TB using the grant-free UL transmission anddetermine whether to transmit a new TB based on a value of a differentbit field included in the UL grant, the UL grant including the HARQprocess ID selected by the UE, retransmit the first TB to the BS basedon the transmitted UL grant, retransmit the previous TB to the BS basedon the transmitted UL grant, and transmit the second TB to the BS basedon the transmitted UL grant.
 15. The BS device of claim 9, wherein thesecond TB is transmitted from the UE as an ultra-reliable low-latencycommunication (URLLC) data packet or an enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB)data packet.
 16. A base station (BS) device for providing transfer blockindications in uplink (UL) grant-free transmissions, the BS devicecomprising: a memory having computer readable instructions storedthereon; and at least one processor configured to execute the computerreadable instructions to, receive a first transport block (TB) from aUser Equipment (UE) during a first transmission time interval (TTI)using a grant-free UL transmission, determine whether to provide a ULtransmission grant to the UE, set a bit length associated with a newdata indicator (NDI), transmit a UL grant to the UE in a physicaldownlink control channel (PDCCH) region during a time window, the ULgrant indicating results of the determination of the UL transmissiongrant status, and the UL grant including the NDI, and receive at leastone of the first TB, a second TB, or a previously transmitted TB fromthe UE based on the UL transmission grant status; and wherein thetransmission of the UL grant to the UE causes the UE to, autonomouslyselect a hybrid automatic repeat query (HARQ) process ID for thegrant-free UL transmission, determine a number of bits associated withthe NDI included in the UL grant, and in response to the determinednumber of NDI bits being 1, determine the PDCCH region associated withthe UL grant, and based on the determined PDCCH region and a value ofthe NDI bit, the UE is further caused to perform at least one of,stopping transmission of the first TB using the grant-free ULtransmission and determining whether to transmit a new TB based on avalue of a different bit field included in the UL grant, the UL grantincluding the HARQ process ID that is selected by the UE, retransmittingthe first TB to the BS based on the UL grant, retransmitting theprevious TB to the BS based on the UL grant, and transmitting the secondTB to the BS based on the UL grant.
 17. A method for providing transferblock indications in uplink (UL) grant-free transmissions, the methodcomprising: transmitting a first transport block (TB) to a base station(BS) during a first time transmission interval (TTI) using a grant-freeUL transmission; receiving a UL grant from the BS in a physical downlinkcontrol channel (PDCCH) region during a time window, the UL grantindicating whether the BS grants UL transmission; determining a targetof the UL grant, the target including at least one of the first TB, asecond TB, or a previously transmitted TB based on the UL grant;transmitting the target of the UL grant to the BS; autonomouslyselecting a HARQ process ID for the grant-free UL transmission;determining a number of bits associated with a new data indicator (NDI)included in the UL grant; and in response to the determined number ofNDI bits being 2, performing at least one of, stopping transmission ofthe first TB using the grant-free UL transmission and determiningwhether to transmit a new TB based on a value of a different bit fieldincluded in the UL grant, the UL grant including the HARQ process IDthat is selected by UE, retransmitting the first TB to the BS based onthe UL grant, continuing transmission of the first TB using thegrant-free UL transmission and retransmitting a previous TB scheduledfor transmission prior to the first TB to the BS based on the UL grant,the UL grant including grant-based UL transmission schedulinginformation using a HARQ process ID selected by the BS, and continuingtransmission of the first TB using the grant-free UL transmission andtransmitting the second TB to the BS based on the UL grant.
 18. Themethod of claim 17, further comprising: analyzing a transport block size(TBS) of the UL grant and a TBS of the transmitted first TB.
 19. Themethod of claim 18, wherein in response to the TBS of the UL grant beingthe same or being a next higher TBS value as the TBS of the transmittedfirst TB, the method further comprises: retransmitting the first TB tothe BS based on the UL grant.
 20. The method of claim 18, wherein inresponse to the TBS of the UL grant not being the same and not being anext higher TBS value as the TBS of the transmitted first TB, the methodfurther comprises: transmitting the second TB to the BS based on the ULgrant.
 21. The method of claim 17, wherein in response to the determinednumber of NDI bits being 1, the method further comprises: determiningthe PDCCH region associated with the UL grant; and based on thedetermined PDCCH region and a value of the NDI bit, performing at leastone of, stopping transmission of the first TB using the grant-free ULtransmission and determining whether to transmit a new TB based on avalue of a different bit field included in the UL grant, the UL grantincluding the HARQ process ID that is selected by the UE, retransmittingthe first TB to the BS based on the UL grant, retransmitting theprevious TB to the BS based on the UL grant, and transmitting the secondTB to the BS based on the UL grant.
 22. A method for providing transferblock indications in uplink (UL) grant-free transmissions, the methodcomprising: transmitting a first transport block (TB) to a base station(BS) during a first time transmission interval (TTI) using a grant-freeUL transmission; receiving a UL grant from the BS in a physical downlinkcontrol channel (PDCCH) region during a time window, the UL grantindicating whether the BS grants UL transmission; determining a targetof the UL grant, the target including at least one of the first TB, asecond TB, or a previously transmitted TB based on the UL grant;transmitting the target of the UL grant to the BS; autonomouslyselecting a hybrid automatic repeat query (HARQ) process ID for thegrant-free UL transmission; determining a number of bits associated witha new data indicator (NDI) included in the UL grant; and in response tothe determined number of NDI bits being 1, determining the PDCCH regionassociated with the UL grant; and based on the determined PDCCH regionand a value of the NDI bit, performing at least one of, stoppingtransmission of the first TB using the grant-free UL transmission anddetermining whether to transmit a new TB based on a value of a differentbit field included in the UL grant, the UL grant including the HARQprocess ID that is selected by the UE, retransmitting the first TB tothe BS based on the UL grant, retransmitting the previous TB to the BSbased on the UL grant, and transmitting the second TB to the BS based onthe UL grant.